BryanG

See if you can find the video "The Masters of Comic Book Art" from 1987, hosted by the smirking ass-hat Harlan Ellison. Ditko has a approx. 5 min monologue on Mr. A, Ditko's motivation as an artist, and pretty thorough condemnation of the modern anti-hero in comics. This is a snippet from the IMDB page for the program from a clueless reviewer. "The video is limited by what material could be licensed for the feature, which does not include the Marvel work of Kirby, Ditko, Adams, or Miller. Ditko does not appear on screen; but, rather reads a statement while images from his Mr A comic appear on screen. His devotion to the works of Ayn Rand continue to mar what was once a great body of work."

Did you add the single point sling, or was it CA military issue? Just curious, I think it's a personal item for most US forces.

The story is that Hubbard made a bet with Sci-Fi writer Joe Haldeman at a convention that he (Hubbard) could invent a new religion and never have to work again. Apparently the dates don't match up though, Hubbard was already involved with Scientology (mid 1950's) before he met Haldeman (mid 1960's).

What Jaskin said. We had a guest instructor one day who was a successful book illustrator doing YA fiction covers. She had a portfolio dating back to her first art class. It was fascinating to her progression from an awful (and I mean AWFUL) beginner to a very skilled painter.

Just to throw another question in to the mix on the "fairness" of using steroids etc. If I have a genetic advantage over other athletes (better lung efficiency, muscle/leverage advantage), is that "fair" to the other athletes? I did nothing to "earn" this advantage. Does my participation in a sport that I have a genetic advantage for create an un-level playing field? I have my own answer on this, but I find it a nice monkey wrench

If your developing software, might it be a good idea to hold on to the PC for testing purposes? The low end IMac should be fine for your needs. Getting up to speed with the Mac OS is pretty easy. If you know your way around a PC the Mac will be a no-brainer.

Roses as a follow-up to getting popped in in the nuggets? He didn't even try to explain his outrageous behavior, he just continued with his romance fantasy? This guy has some serious issues. Since you know this guy is leaving roses under your windshield wiper, I would start by leaving a note under your wiper telling him you are NOT interested and if he does not cease the law will become involved. Be direct, let him know you are serious. I don't think a face to face is a good idea unless you have someone with you. As far as your personal safety, you might want to get some pepper spray initially. Find out if there are any gun shops/specialty stores in your area that stock it.

I took (and passed) the Michigan drivers test at the end of my MSF class. I've talked to other people who didn't have to take the same test I did when they went to the DMV for their test. One guy I talked to just went around the DMV parking lot and stopped a couple times and got his MC license. I always wear a helmet, gloves, textile jacket (mesh for summer), and good MC boots. I have pants too, though I usually wear those on longer trips. If it's too hot for a jacket, I don't ride. Tenure, leather still is the best material for MC clothes. Leather specifically for MC jackets is usually called "competition weight" and it is much thicker than the leather found in casual jackets. Textile jackets are like leather in that, the durability can vary depending on materials. Textile jackets made out of at least 550 denier nylon are pretty tough (they will usually say this on the label). Though you can find cheaper jackets that use lighter spec nylon, they will not hold up very well up if you take spill. RB, the KLR is a bit big for me to use on really knarly off road stuff, but it will do fire roads just fine. There are a lot of guys who use them off road with no problems, but they are much better riders than I am. If you saw "Long Way Round" you know how tough those BMW GS beasts can be off road, I really have to give them kudo's for accomplishing their goal! I got the KLR because. It's cheap! ($5500 OTD) It's reliable It's easy to work on After market stuff (hard luggage, etc) are cheap and plentiful

I very much second taking the MSF course, it's cheap and very helpful. Speaking of 3-wheelers, the Can-Am trike does not lean like a 2-wheeler, but the Piaggio MP3 does. It's kind of neat, though expensive. I just picked up one of these, and I'm really enjoying it!

According to the police report they had him on the ground and had one handcuff on, but were unable to secure his other hand to get the other cuff on - due to him thrashing about. There is a potential risk to the officers when dealing with an unsecured handcuff attached to a thrashing arm.

"They should have no right to decide which questions are relevant, or how much questioning is enough, having granted him the ability to ask questions in the first place." I don't think that was the motivation of the police officers. I could be wrong, but they looked to be reacting to his behavior, not the relevance of his questions. "Also your attempted distinction between arrest, escort, and securing for safety is philosophically meaningless." I was responding to this your description of what "arrest" constitutes as quoted below - that was all I was addressing. "As far as I know (or care), "arrest" means ANY time a cop so much as wiggles his finger and directs you to come over - since you can't choose not to obey, that's arrest - and demands specific rational justification before it occurs, and the question is, what is that justification?" You can be called over by an officer to answer questions about a crime you may have witnessed, or you could be pulled over for a traffic violation and let go with a warning. Neither instance would be classified as an "arrest" per se. The term "arrest" has a specific meaning. That was the point I was trying to make. "At no point did it appear that others were at risk." Yes the point was that it appeared, on video, after the fact, that no one at risk. That's a different perspective than when it's happening in real time.

Apparently this person got into a scuffle with the police while trying to get in to the area where Kerry was taking questions. That was the reason why the cops were standing within arms reach of him when he was asking his questions. They already knew he might be a problem. The police removed him because he seemed to be getting agitated again when he was asking his questions. If you watch the longer version on Youtube, he began fighting the police as they were escorting him out (again, they had already dealt with him in an agitated state before he got in) and they put him on the ground. They told him repeatedly to get his hands out so they could handcuff him and he refused. Police sometimes will secure someone with handcuffs for their safety, and the subjects safety - it has nothing to do with being arrested, that may or may not take place later, but that was not what was going on when the police had him on the ground. Securing someone in that situation is their primary concern. I think they could have got the cuffs on with out using the taser, but I'm not a cop and I wasn't there in the situation. I don't agree with the irrational laws that cops enforce, but I have no illusions about the risks cops face every day.

It may have pro-reason themes, though it's not apparent from the premise of the game. Also, the game designer obviously won't want to give away why/how this "Objectivist-ish" utopia collapsed, as it may be integral to gameplay. I understand Dorian's motive (a desire to find positive value) maybe he can give a review of the game after he finishes it.

Why wound anyone who supports Objectivism want to support this game? In the first question/answer from the Gamespot interview the designer states that he doesn't think there are (moral) black and whites. I'm wondering why this game, among other FPS games available, would appeal to an Objectivist?

Congrats! Did you listen to music? Have a GPS with you? Sit in a bucket of ice when you got home?? I would be leery of taking my old BMW on a trip that long. I know people do take "vintage" bikes on the Iron Butt, but I'm not that mechanically inclined!

One point that is not raised (or rarely heard) is that 38 states are now "shall issue" states, a change in state regs. that began nationally in the early nineties. This means that the "shall issue" state must show cause to refuse a citizen (who meets certain qualifications) a concealed pistols license. Cause to refuse would be a criminal record, mental illness etc. The result of this change is that in the last 15 years, hundreds of thousands of CPL's have been issued, and tens of thousands of citizens in the US are walking the streets armed (my experience is that most CPL holders don't carry all the time). Sooo, if access to guns equals more crime, why has the crime rate been dropping while more people are going around armed in public? Where are the news reports about "the gun fight at the OK Corral" carnage the anti's used to squeal about? "Why would someone need to carry a gun" is a question I hear occasionally from people when the subject of CPLs comes up - the implication is that a CPL holder must live in constant fear of being harmed. My usual response is to ask the person if they have fire insurance on their home (if they own one), then I ask if they around in constant fear that their house will burn down. I don't feel constantly threatened, but the students at VT probably didn't either. I hear the same faulty logic sometimes from people in the motorcycling community. "I don't bother with all that stuff (safety gear) because I don't plan on crashing" - yes, I have actually heard this line of reasoning come out of peoples mouths.

According to a recent book critical of Blackwater, (Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army) there is a jurisdictional hole in which these security companies operate. According to the book companies like Blackwater, being private, operate outside the US military code of conduct, but the US Govt. contracts they operate under also protect them from civil liability. BTW, the book was written by a guy who writes for The Nation, so you can be fairly sure he does not like the current administration. The left is absolutely RABID about Blackwater, they are seen as a right wing Christian paramilitary group doing the bidding of Prez. Bush. As much attention as Blackwater has gotten, there haven't t really been reports of any negative incidents that I know of, other than the 4 Blackwater guys who were killed in Baghdad, and a Blackwater contracted 'copter crash in Afghanistan - families of the dead employees are suing Blackwater over those.

Completely off topic but... Did you realize that your Nick "noabsolutes", as stated, is an absolute? Not sure if you intended it to be funny/ironic...

That’s why the current crop of high profile Atheists like Dawkins and Harris concern me as much as the religious right. They (the sceptics) ignore or disregard the idea that philosophy has to be treated a unified whole, not as a bunch of talking points used in an argument against mystics. I’ve been listening to a lot of Atheist oriented podcasts recently and they all are philosophically subjectivist, determinists etc.

I like the looks of the GW, I don't know if it would keep me interested long term though. Most of my riding is in town, commuting etc, and the GW seems (to me) to be too large for my needs. This is the one I have my eye on.

I see a lot more small scooters around town, they're a good option for short errands and commuting - I'd like to see more scooter riders wearing protective gear though. I wince every time I see a scooter rider in shorts and sandals, I see the same thing with young guys on sport bikes. I told my Dad to give me a call if he ever wanted to sell his Burgman.

Remote start on a scooter? Not even the big scoots from Honda and Suzuki have that as an option. BTW, do you have to get a MC endorsment on your Texas DL for a 150cc? My dad has a Burgman 650 which I got to test ride last spring. It's pretty plush and gets 50-55 MPG. I probably would have gone for the Gold Wing over the HD for the "gadget factor", but the GW does not have that HD "vibe". This is almost identical to my '88 BMW R100GS. It's old, but I like it.

I work part time at a gun store, and you can refuse to sell someone a firearm, that part is the same as any other retail business. There are other legal issues that are unique the the business tho.

Happy Birthday RB! BTW, how did the Deals Gap ride go, did you ever make the trip?

So the only choice available is the false alternative of tax supported health care and no health care? Why is this?